Water

[redwineleo]

How important is the water I use in my wine kits? Much too late, I read where if you have a water softener in your house you shouldn't use that water to make wine. I did. However, the water was also taken from a Culligan reverse osmosis water system that is used for our drinking and ice cube water, so it's after the water goes through a water softener. Will this ruin the kit? I also started another kit with water from the city system before it goes into the water softener (from an outdoor faucet). Are either or both of these batches worthless? I've tasted the first one and it's somewhat flavorless (it's a cabernet). The second is a merlot that I haven't tasted yet. Just interested in what everyone else uses/thinks.

 

[MedPretzel]

The official answer is: use spring water. It's better and if you spend so much money on the wine kit, you might as well spend money on the water too.





My answer: I've never done this. I have city water, and I use it for all my wines. I bring it to a rolling boil, and use it in my wines. No one has detected that it's city water yet. Would my wines taste better if I used spring water? Maybe, maybe not. I don't know. But I've made some pretty darn good wines this way, and some pretty darn bad ones. The bad ones are probably due to something else, since I can honestly say that I have some good ones in my collection.





So, it's basically up to you, is what I think. You might want to try the wine and see what you think of it. You say flavorless -- at what stage have you tried it?


This is only my opinion, and I am sure that there are others who disagree.

 

[jobe05]

Redwine:


I am fairly new at this and was concerned about the water issue myself. I have city water, and do not boil it, right from the tap to the fermenter. My oldest batches are only about 6 months or so in the bottle. I did one (Reising Ice wine) with tap water, and I did a Rasberry with bottled water (spring water), and can not tell any fifference at all. HOWEVER...... I sure that different municipalities use different (levels) of chemicals in the water, same as people who use water softners at ome would have different settings. I would try a batch of scratch wine as a test, do one gallon with your tap water after softner, one from the outside tap before the softener, and one with a gallon of spring water to see if you could tell any difference.


Keep us posted on the out come.

 

[geocorn]

The concern with a water softner is that most of them use salt to soften the water which is not good for your wine. Most sources I have read say that using tap water is fine if it tastes good and does not go through a salt based softner. If either one of these fail the test, then use bottled spring water. BTY, distilled water is not recommended.

 

[Waldo]

I think you would be hard pressed to find a City, Municipal water supply that would not be suitable for making your wine. As George siad, If it will pass the taste test, it will be ok.

 

[MedPretzel]

Sorry to be a stickler, but I'm still for boiling it first.


It's the (so-called) scientist in me (I'm NOT one). Personally, I feel like I'm killing everything I can, plus boiling off the chlorine and other chemicals in the water when I do so.I once saw a documentary on the "state of the water" in the united states. Even for larger cities, no one really got a TWO thumbs up.


If you have well-water, I'd boil it too.Aside from E. coli swimming in there, there are other possible threats, which I can't explain.


Recent studies (which I also saw on PBS sometime ago) have shown that spring water does not carry any less contaminants than normal well- or city-water.


Don't get me wrong - I am not a germ-ophobe and I'm not trying to be difficult. I'm actually quite the opposite. I still think I'm killing 2 birds with one stone when I boil the water. I am killing all the buggers on the petals/fruits/herbs I'm using, plus the water is "purer."

 

[PolishWineP]

We do the same as Martina. We bring it to a full boil before using it. It adds time to the process but I know then that there's no active chlorine in it to accidently kill off or damage anything in our wine. I'm not worried about the other things I'm just worried it's too sanitary!

 

[geocorn]

I am going to do some more research, but from what I have read, the alcohol in the wine will kill anything that could harm a human being, including e-coli. That is why it is legal to make wine, but not distilled spirits. With wine making, you can not make anything that would hurt you. With distillation, you can, but, like I said, I will do some more research.

 

[MedPretzel]

http://www.grapestompers.com/articles/winemaking_water.htm





Grapestompers had this to say..... It seems logical....

 

[Waldo]

Very interesting and informative Martina. I guess we are blessed with our water supply because we have never had any problems with the quality/taste of it. I do have a charcoal filter system on the water I use for my winemaking though and have bought the bottled spring water too.

 

[smurfe]

I use a combo of well water (the hot water to dissolve my Benonite and rinse my juice bag out. Approx 1/2 to 1 gallon) and spring water from the 5 gallon dispenser in my dining room.


I am still not convinced that "spring water" is nothing more than tap water ran through a charcoal water filter like the Brita filters you can put on your spigot. I grew up with water from a natural spring that flows up into my parents basement and the water in these 5 gallon jugs tastes NOTHING like that water.


Smurfe

 

[PolishWineP]

I am so jealous! If we have water come up in our basement it's a bad thing! Although we do save it after it's been pumped out of the sump to water the garden at a later time!